In 2012 the Starbucks website posed the question: “Have you noticed how everything seems a little impersonal nowadays?” This corporate navel-gazing ended with the coffee giant pledging to refer to us “as our folks intended”, by our real names.
This decision to personalise things gave birth to a new genre of profile picture, specifically, a lipstick-stained paper cup with a nickname scrawled on it: Fatoom, Wooshi, Mimi. It also launched a new internet meme, that of hilariously misspelled names on cups. I am frequently referred to as Justine by cacographic baristas the world over.
This whole naming thing is particularly tricky in places such as the UAE, where people come from many different countries and speak with a wide range of accents. My name, Justin, is fairly easy on the ear. However, most baristas in the UAE will qualify their recognition of my name by nodding their heads and saying, “Justin Bieber”, before breaking into song.
To overcome similar problems some customers give themselves a “Starbucks name”, adopting an alias that’s easy to pronounce and hard to mess up.
It isn’t only Starbucks that is involved in personalising consumables. In recent years Vimto, Nutella and Coca-Cola have all got in on the act. There is something pleasurable about seeing one’s own name integrated with a global super brand. At the heart of this pleasure is something psychologists call implicit egotism: I like thing X, but I like thing X even better when my name is on it.
The idea of implicit egotism is supported by decades of research. One of the classic explorations is known as the name letter effect. To demonstrate this effect, you are asked to “rate the following letters from 1 to 10 based on how much you like each letter: A, B, C, D … etc”. On average, people tend to rate letters that are contained within their own names more favourably than those that aren’t. This is particularly pronounced for first names and initials. This effect has been found across cultures and languages, including Arabic thanks to Zayed University psychology student, Ayesha Al Jaberi.
The effect is small, but its influence appears widespread. If your name begins with the letter D, you are slightly more likely to wind up being a dentist than a lawyer, and you're also slightly more likely to marry a person called David/Diana than a person called Adam/Andrea. This sounds too quirky to be true, but it is well supported by lots of research. See, for example, Why Susie sells seashells by the seashore: Implicit egotism and major life decisions, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
There are several explanations for why we demonstrate this bias. Two of the most convincing involve common sense notions relating to primacy and familiarity. Our own names tend to be the ones we encounter most often (frequency), and the first word most of us learn to write is our own name (primacy). Ultimately, our names are part of our self-concept and most of us are pretty positive about ourselves.
Perhaps Starbucks knew all about implicit egotism when it launched its personalisation campaign? Maybe the idea was actually proposed by a psychologist; Starbucks do employ them. Either way, the name on the cup gimmick has proved very popular. One problem with this popularity however, is that many people now request a paper cup even if they are drinking in. These cups are not fully recyclable and EcoWatch, a leading environmental news site, estimate that around four billion of them ended up in landfill sites in 2016.
Next time you’re in a coffee shop and you plan to drink in, by all means tell the barista your “Starbucks name”, but have your drink in a porcelain cup.
Remember when coffee shops used to ring with the sound of clinking cups? Let’s go back to that.
Dr Justin Thomas is an associate professor at Zayed University
On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
*2018 winners: Northern Warriors
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
NEW%20PRICING%20SCHEME%20FOR%20APPLE%20MUSIC%2C%20TV%2B%20AND%20ONE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20Music%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410.99%20(from%20%249.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.99%20(from%20%2414.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EIndividual%20annual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24109%20(from%20%2499)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20TV%2B%3Cbr%3EMonthly%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%246.99%20(from%20%244.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAnnual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2469%20(from%20%2449.99)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20One%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.95%20(from%20%2414.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2422.95%20(from%20%2419.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20premier%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2432.95%20(from%20%2429.95)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Fast%20X
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Louis%20Leterrier%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Michelle%20Rodriguez%2C%20Jason%20Statham%2C%20Tyrese%20Gibson%2C%20Ludacris%2C%20Jason%20Momoa%2C%20John%20Cena%2C%20Jordana%20Brewster%2C%20Nathalie%20Emmanuel%2C%20Sung%20Kang%2C%20Brie%20Larson%2C%20Helen%20Mirren%20and%20Charlize%20Theron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
